The Phone Call
by TeamNewTricks
Summary: Gerry feels like his world has come crashing down when he receives an unwanted phone call.
1. Chapter 1

This is a joint story with BethyBoo97. We hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: we don't own new tricks etc!

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It'd been a fairly normal day in the UCOS office, their case was going fine and nothing out of the ordinary had happened. They'd done lots of work, exchanged witty banter and Sandra and Gerry had even managed to have an argument. Well a one sided argument. So it was a normal day, well normal for them since Jack had left, the mood in the office was not the normal happy jokey one, but instead a miserable one.

'Pub anyone?' Sandra asked as she looked up at the clock to see it had just gone 7.'Yeah.' The other two replied glumly. They knew they had to start moving on from Jack soon but it just didn't seem right. The team set about collecting their coats and belongings when Gerry's phone rang.

'You two go on, I'll catch up.' Gerry told them.

The phone call was very brief, but what he'd heard had turned his whole world upside down. The colour drained from his face and he felt like he could throw up. He had no time to sit around and feel sorry for himself; he had to do something about this.

Meanwhile over in the pub sat a miserable Sandra and Brian. Visits to the pub after work where no longer fun, instead they just reminded her that someone was so clearly missing, Jack, and Gerry in this instance but he'd told her he'd be there soon.  
Soon an hour had passed and still Gerry had not turned up, this was weird usually he was the first to the pub and first to accept a drink. Sandra was beginning to worry something could have happened to him, because if something had come up he would of called. Wouldn't he?

Gerry stormed out of the office and into his car before driving off into the darkness.

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More to come soon! Hope everyone enjoyed this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer as before**

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Sandra and Brian had already been in the office for a good half an hour before Gerry arrived.

"Nice of you to grace us with your presence Gerry" Sandra appeared from her office and glanced up and down at her colleague. "Christ, what happened to you?" Gerry was dressed in his usual attire but there was something about him, he looked exhausted and dishevelled.

"Ah nothing, just didn't sleep well that's all."

"Has this got something to do with why you didn't turn up at the pub last night?"

"Nah, I just didn't fancy it that's all." There was something about that last statement that really didn't add up; Gerry never didn't fancy a trip to the pub.

The three of them were at their desks trying to piece together some more evidence for their latest case. Every time Sandra glanced out of her office window she kept catching Gerry staring at his phone. Despite his often unenthusiastic approach to his work, he was never as unprofessional as this.

"Gerry, a word in my office please." Sandra called round into the main office. "

Yes Gov?" he stood in the door way to her office. "

Is something the matter Gerry, you don't seem right?"

"Nothing is the matter, I'm fine."

"Gerry" Sandra's voice became stronger and more forceful. Gerry shut the door behind him and stepped closer towards Sandra's desk. This was enough to tell her that whatever was wrong was something serious.

"Well there is something actually." Sandra stared at him intensely waiting for an answer, inside she was worried as to what had happened but she was excellent at not letting this show. "You see I had this call last night from Caitlin's mother saying Caitlin hadn't been home for a day and a half. At first she'd thought she'd been at a friends, but none of them have seen her, none of her stuffs gone and she'd have returned home by now. I've been out searching all night for her."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well I didn't want to worry you, with Jack gone it was the last thing you needed."

"You should have told me Gerry. Look, I'll tell you what, we'll keep this quiet from Brian, he's really not handling this whole Jack thing very well. But tonight, we'll leave early and go looking for her, ok?"

"You don't have to do that Sandra."

"I want to."

Despite the immediate dismissal of her idea she could see the gratitude in his eyes from her offer. "Thanks gov."

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Hope you are enjoying this.

Team_NewTricks and BethyBoo97


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer as before**

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After Sandra's kind offer the day seemed to slow down even more. Most of the day Gerry found himself watching the clock of his phone; he had tried to concentrate on his work so he could get his mind off Caitlin being missing, but nothing was working. There'd still been no news on Caitlin, this worried Gerry even more and being in the police force he knew the longer it takes to find someone the lesser chance there is of them being alive.

'Okay boys, home time.' Sandra said almost cheerily as she rose up from the chair she was sat on. Ever since Jack had left she had hated being in the office, she'd changed and now she was keen to be out at dead on 5 every day.

'Are you not going to the pub?' asked Brian.  
'No. I have plans.' Brian looked shocked. 'I do have a life outside of UCOS you know.'  
'Okay, Gerry what about you?'  
'Sorry mate got family stuff tonight.' Gerry felt bad but neither of them were actually lying to him, Sandra did have plans and Gerry did have family stuff. Just neither of them said it involved looking for Gerry's missing daughter. Brian left after saying something about not wanting to bike home in the dark.

'So guv, what's the plan?'

'Well Gerry, where did you search last night?'

'Well I searched the half of the forest and the rest of the girls asked her friends and anyone on the street if they'd seen her.'

'I thought you were scared of woods?'

'When it's your daughter that could be in it, you suddenly forget all about that.'

'Well that's very brave of you.' Sandra suddenly felt a great sense of admiration for Gerry. 'Ok then, I think we should search the other half of the forest.'

'I'll warn you it's dark.'

'Well then I'll bring a torch.' Sandra retorted

'We going now then?'

'Yes Gerry. Wanna go together? It's just easier than taking two cars.'

'Yeah okay.'

'First I have to quickly pop home and change my shoes and get a torch.'

The ride to Sandra's went really slowly, as had Gerry's day. Ever since he'd found out about Caitlin his life had gone into slow motion.  
'You can stay here if you want or come in while I get changed.'

'Get changed?! You never said you had to get changed.'

'Don't worry, I'll be 5 minutes tops.'

'I'll come in then.'

Inside Sandra's house Gerry sat on her big cream sofa thinking about Caitlin. Had she acted oddly last time he saw her? Would he ever see her again? Where was she? By the time Gerry had finished thinking over his questions and got no where Sandra had appeared at the door.  
'Come on then.' Sandra told him.

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_**Hope you are enjoying this still!**_

_**BethyBoo97 and Team_NewTricks x**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer as before **

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"Gerry, come on" Sandra walked nearer to the opening to the woods, squelching in the mud with her purple wellies on.

"Sorry, you know I don't like woods."

"I know and I think you are very brave doing this. Its getting dark now, so have you got your torch with you?"

"Do you really think I'd even contemplate going in there without this" he replied waving his torch around.

"Alright alright don't shine it in my eyes." She stepped back covering her face, slipping slightly on the mud.

"Steady on gov" Gerry reached his hand out and grabbed her arm to steady her.

"Right. Let's head in this way" she said pointing to a small gap in the trees.

"We're not going to get lost are we?"

"Course not, come on, follow me."

Gerry tried not to let exactly how scared he was in the woods; every noise he heard made his heart pound faster.

"Gerry, if you want to go back to the car I can carry on looking on my own you know." Sandra could tell by the lack of his witty remarks that he was scared, something she had never really see in Gerry before.

"And leave you out here on your own, I don't think so. It's bad enough having to look for one daughter, I don't want to have to search for you too."

The passion with which he told her this formed a smile deep inside her.

"Ok, well as we can hardly see anymore I think we should start heading back. We're not going to get any further here tonight."

They headed back in the direction they came in, still calling out for Caitlin.

There was a sudden crunch that made Gerry jump.

"Sandra are you sure we're heading back the right way? Sandra?" He looked around and found he couldn't see her. "SANDRA" he yelled at the top of his voice.

"I'm down here Gerry." Sandra was laid flat on her back in the mud. "I fell over a log."

"Oh my God, I thought something had happened to you." He bent down and brushed the leaves off her face. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah I will be, just hurt my back a bit that's all."

"Well lie there for a minute, don't move, it might be serious."

"Oh don't be such a drama queen. I'll be fine." She tried to get up but was stopped by Gerry placing his hands on her shoulders. She looked up from where she was lying and in the dark could just about see the intense fear in his eyes. "Gerry" she whispered quietly, trying to calm him down. She reached her arms up and stroked the back of his neck with her fingers before gripping his neck slightly tighter. She pulled him down further until his lips fell onto hers. He instantly kissed back for a few moments until he realised what he was doing.

"Sandra. I'm so sorry"

Sandra opened her eyes slowly, still feeling the effects of their kiss. "Don't be. I was just trying to calm you down thats all." This time Gerry let Sandra get up.

"Oh well it didn't quite work." He commented, noticing his increased heartbeat. If he carried on like this he thought he was going to have a heart attack.

Sandra picked up her torch that she had dropped when she had fallen and took hold of Gerry's arm.

"Let's get you back home Gerry, you really need to rest you've had a hectic day."

They walked back out of the woods with Gerry's arm tightly in Sandra's grasp.

"Ah there's your car." Gerry suddenly felt slight relief that they hadn't actually got lost.

"Gerry, I'm sorry that this wasn't as successful as we hoped. I promise we'll keep looking until we find her."

Gerry smiled when he noticed the consistent use of 'we' in her motivational speeches. In a way it reassured him slightly, knowing that he wouldn't be alone through this. She rubbed her hand on Gerry's thigh, "And we WILL find her".

"Thank you. I don't deserve you."

She smiled cheekily, "No you don't!"

Sandra leant forward to kiss his cheek, but he moved his lips into her path.

The kiss was less tense than earlier, but Sandra put this partly down to the fact they were out of the woods now.

"Come on, I'll drive you back to yours. Like I said, you could do with some sleep."

"Cheers guv!"

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**Hope everyone is enjoying this. **

**Next chapter coming soon from BethyBoo97!**

**Team_NewTricks & BethyBoo97**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer as before**

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Soon enough Sandra pulled up outside Gerry's house.

'You coming in?' He asked her.

'Sorry, I think I'm going to go home and have an early night, anyway my back is hurting.'

'Well then guv, come in I'll get you a drink, make you some dinner as you haven't eaten and I'll give you a back massage.'

'I'm not sure, anyway I'm not hungry.'

'Oh come on guv, what's the worst that can happen?' He asked. After having kissed twice tonight she could think of a few things that could happen.

'Oh go on then, as I said my back is sore. Don't try anything funny though.' He laughed.

'I wouldn't dream of it Sandra.' He added cheekily. She took the keys out of the ignition, opened the car door, stepped out and followed Gerry to where he stood already unlocking his front door.

'Sit down; I'll go get you a drink.' Gerry told her.

'Thanks.' He returned a matter of minutes later with a small glass of white wine.

'Okay, come up to my room Sandra.' She looked at him puzzled. 'Well if I'm going to massage your back you need to lie down.' She didn't know what to say but followed him anyway.

When they reached his room he told her to lie on the bed so she did, he sat down at her side and gently massaged her back. When he'd finished she slowly sat up and sat up against the headboard of the bed.

'Thanks Gerry, it feels a lot better now.'

'Magic hands you see guv.' She laughed. Gerry moved up and sat next to her, slowly she leaned towards him and laid her hands on the back of his neck and gently pushed him towards her and that's when they kissed again. This time it was properly, not a short kiss to calm each other down, but a passionate kiss that lasted a lot longer than any before. Sandra was now laying across the bed with Gerry leaning down over her still kissing her when suddenly Gerry's phone rang. He pulled himself off Sandra to check who was ringing him.

'Sorry I have to take this. It's Caitlin's mum, there might be news.'

'Okay.'

'Hello, any news?' Gerry asked her.

'Well, I take it you didn't find her while out searching.'

'No. Anyway what do you mean by well?'

'We've had a note come through the door telling us we wouldn't see Caitlin until whoever wrote the note's dad is out of prison.'

'Oh God, I'll be right there.'

'What's happened?' Sandra asked as she crawled across the bed to him and rubbed him shoulders.

'They've had a letter about Caitlin's release.'

'Oh, you better get going then!'

'What about you?'

'What about me?'

'What are you going to do?'

'Well as I said earlier I'm going to go home for an early night, I'll see you tomorrow at work and then we'll go out searching again tomorrow but earlier so we can search for longer before it gets to dark.' He turned around and kissed her. They both walked down the stairs and pulled their coats on.

'Bye Gerry.' She said as she reached up and kissed him.

'See ya tomorrow guv.'

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**Everyone still enjoying this? **

**BethyBoo97 & Team_NewTricks :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer as before**

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Sandra arrived early at the office the next morning; despite having gone home to get some sleep she hadn't been able to switch her mind off.

Gerry opened the office door to find Sandra pacing up and down with a coffee in her hand.

"Blimey gov, and I thought I was early.

"Sandra jumped round and spilt her coffee. "God you scared me."

"Oh sorry. You're gonna wear a hole in that carpet if you carry on like that." he commented on the fact she still couldn't seem to keep still.

"Just thinking that's all. How did you get on last night?"

"Well it looks like she's been kidnapped, some connection to our last case, looks like we upset someone." Gerry shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know what to do."

Sandra could see the tears starting to form in his eyes."Hey come here." Sandra put down her drink and walked closer to Gerry rubbing his arm, "What did the letter actually say?"

"Well they want us to let their dad out of prison, saying that we must make it look like we got it wrong. It never actually said who it was from, but I think we could have a good guess."

"Have you told the police about this yet Gerry?" she still stood there stroking his arm.

"Yes, we got them out last night, arrived just after I got there. They said we just have to wait until there's anymore demands, because at the moment we don't actually know where or when they would release her."

"You mean do nothing!" Sandra practically screamed into Gerry's face.

"Bloody hell Sandra". He said mockingly placing his hand over his ear.

"Sorry. But you can't just wait and do nothing."

"I know that, but what is there to do?"

"While I was lying awake last night I was thinking about when we were in the woods..." Even in Gerry's current state on mind he still managed to raise his eyebrow at this remark causing Sandra to smile slightly. "...and.." she continued "I remember seeing a cabin or shed in there. It was so dark we obviously didn't really take much notice if it, but thinking back it was definitely there. I think we should take a second look."

"Oh you're a genius Sandra" he leant forward excitedly and planted a soft kiss on Sandra's lips.

"Well I do have my moments" she giggled, relieved that she could finally provide some sort of sanity to Gerry.

"When do you want to go?"

"Well as we're both so early why don't we go now. I'll leave a note for Brian telling him to get on with some paperwork, Strickland said it needed sorting out anyway."

"Won't he think it's odd?"

"Well if we do find her then at least we can explain to him. Anyway, it's him that's been behaving oddly, he's the one that should be doing the explaining."

Sandra and Gerry started to make their way out of the office and towards the car park.

"How come you were awake last night then Sandra?"

"I think I was just worried about what would happen now that you had received that letter. And I just kept thinking about where else we could look, thats when I realised that I'd seen that she'd in the woods."

"You weren't thinking about what happened before the phone rang then?"

"Maybe a bit." Sandra replied shyly, not sure with whether she should have admitted that.

"Do you regret it?"

"What having my back massaged?" she smiled, knowing that wasn't what he was referring to. "Nah, my back feels tons better today."

"You know what I mean Sandra."

"Yes I do."

"What you do regret it?" Gerry suddenly stopped walking and starred at Sandra, finding he was now starting to panic again.

"No you twit. I mean 'yes I do' as in I know what you meant! Of course I don't regret it, not that there was anything really to regret." She smirked slightly as she walked forward and unlocked her car.

"Well, let's see how much of a genius you really are and see if this shed thing does give us a clue, then we'll see about changing that!"

"Sounds like a deal to me."

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**More soon**

**Team_NewTricks & BethyBoo97 :) **


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer as before**

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While Sandra drove she briefly looked around to see how Gerry was, sensing he wasn't as calm as he wanted her to think she placed her hand on his thigh and gently rubbed it, in an attempt to calm him. It didn't take to long to get to where they had parked the car the night before as because it was so early there were barely any cars on the road.

'Come on then Gerry.' They both got out the car and yet again entered the forest, Sandra held Gerry's hand as she knew how he absolutely hated forests and how scared he was the night before. It was a bit of a walk until a small log cabin came into view.

'Look, there's the cabin I was talking about.' Sandra told him pointing off into the distance.

'Oh God, let's hope this is it.' He reached down and kissed her.

'Whatever happens Gerry, we aren't going to give up searching. We will find her.'

It took another five minutes until they actually arrived outside the cabin. Gerry was shaking slightly so Sandra took control. She kicked open the cabin door and took out her police warrant card in case she'd got this so badly wrong. But no she hadn't, there tied to a bed was the youngest Standing daughter looking starving and ill. Gerry was waiting outside for fear of what they would find.

Examining the room further Sandra immediately saw a face she instantly recognised, the daughter of the man who they'd just sent to jail, she was sleeping though. Sandra poked her head round the door to see Gerry.

'So…?' he asked her, she nodded.

'Call for back-up.' He was growing more and more worried as to whether Caitlin was alright. Then suddenly out the door walked Caitlin wearing Sandra's coat with Sandra helping to keep her up. Gerry immediately ran over to her and scooped her up into a massive hug.

'Okay Gerry, we need to wait for back-up to take her captor away as she is currently sleeping inside and then we are taking Caitlin to the hospital to be checked over.'

Gerry let Caitlin sit down on the porch of the log cabin, sensing she was too weak to be on her feet for too long. He walked over to Sandra and pulled her into a hug and they passionately kissed.

'Thank you so much Sandra. How can I ever make it up to you?'

'I can think of a few things.' She added playfully, he pulled her back into a kiss just as back-up arrived.

'Hello boys, I'm D.S. Pullman, we've just rescued this girl from her captor, the captor is currently inside sleeping, so do what you need to do.' She then turned to Gerry 'Come on let's get her to the hospital.'

Both Sandra and Gerry helped Caitlin up and helped her to get back to the car. Caitlin seemed unable to talk from all the shock, so the trip to the hospital was silent. But in the silence Gerry and Sandra had been sharing playful looks and Gerry had put his hand on top of hers while she had it on the gear stick, she tightly squeezed it and gave him a look which he read as a 'we did it' look.

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**One more chapter left...**

**BethyBoo97 & Team_NewTricks**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer as before**

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"Where the hell have you two been?" exclaimed Brian when his colleagues eventually turned up.

Gerry and Sandra left Caitlin in the hospital with her mum; the doctors said that she was fine and once she had some food and water inside her she would be back to normal. She'd even began to talk again. And it was fair to say that Gerry's deal and promise to thank Sandra had been successfully fulfilled.

"We just rescued my daughter." Gerry answered proudly slouching on his chair.

"Well I know that, it was on the news hours ago. I mean, how long does it take to drive back here from the hospital? And why didn't you tell me about Caitlin?"

Gerry glanced quickly at Sandra trying his hardest not to smile, a look which Brian clocked.

"I thought something was odd with you two." he remarked nodding his head.

"Never mind about us Brian, you're the one acting oddly. What is up with you? And we didn't tell you because you haven't been coping well since Jack left." Sandra perched on the end of Gerry's desk.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh give it a rest Brian" Gerry butted in, "ever since Jack left you have been acting oddly. Do you know something?"

"No, course not. Look, we're not going to get any work done today, let's just go to the pub. Celebrate you finding Caitlin and you two finally getting together."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Gerry rubbed his hands together.

Sandra and Gerry walked to the pub hand in hand both happier than they could ever remember being, Brian wasn't far in front wheeling is bike was starting to think this day couldn't get any better, until he remembered that he now had something else to look forward to. He had his gov, his Sandra by his side, and he was never going to let her go.

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**The End.**

**Hope you enjoyed this. **

**Team_NewTricks and BethyBoo97 :) x**


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